The kindness of a few strangers did not go unnoticed by a Kiwi dad whose son had a mishap while biking in Christchurch.
On Sunday, 12-year-old Flynny Townshend took a solo ride at the Christchurch Adventure Park biking track, eager to test his new GoPro Max—a big step for dad Josh to allow him to ride alone.
In the footage Josh shared on Instagram, two men who had been riding nearby rushed to check on Flynny.
“They checked multiple times to see if he was injured, reassured him and sat with him until he felt better,” Josh captioned the video, keen to find out the identity of the good samaritans.
“They made an effort to relate to him, asking him about where he had been riding, moving his bike out of the way and confirming again with him what had happened.
Once he had recovered they offered to help him up and advised him to call it a day, making sure the path was clear for him to get back to his bike.”
SOURCE: @townshendjosh on Instagram
The kindness of these strangers deeply touched Josh, who later found out the men were named Jono and Aaron. “This video effectively brought me to tears," he wrote.
"Not only is it hard seeing your child alone and upset, but the concern of complete strangers and the way they approached him is one of the most incredible, heartwarming components of human nature.”
He has since been in touch with two of the three men, to thank them for their good deed.
Jono even replied on the video to say he is "glad to hear Flynn is doing okay".
"These things do happen on the trail from time to time, and many of us, including myself, have been fortunate to receive help from the community over the years, he wrote.
"It’s quite special to have captured this on video."
Others chimed in on Instagram, with one user saying: “As a mum of a young mountain biker, I absolutely love seeing that complete strangers stopped and checked on this boy! Love the NZ mountain bike community.”
“Those guys were awesome. I'm sure their kindness & compassion made a great impact on this boy. He showed such great strength 🙏🫰🏽❤️,” added another.
Josh later acknowledged it was hard for him as a parent to give Flynny the “freedom to make [his] own decisions in an independent, moderate-risk situation like this.”
SOURCE: @townshendjosh on Instagram
It’s great to see such an awesome response to the kindness of these two legends.
